Amanda Finn - Page 4

It seems fitting that Strollers Theatre would open one of The Bard's greatest comedies on Valentine's weekend as love is all around in Twelfth Night. Rekindled by the 2006 film She's the Man, this Shakespearian romantic romp is oozing with mistaken identity and heartsick characters. With some of the greatest parts written in early modern theatre, director Greg Harris took his performers to task.

The Frequency off of West Main St. in Madison can give newcomers an eerie vibe. It's been well used in its time as a music venue and was the perfect spot for the latest Are We Delicious revue. Complete with indoor umbrellas, creepy little mummified trinkets, sage, a rosary, cloaking devices, and six actors, the show unfolded. Per the norm for AWD, each short play revolved around the ultimate theme of superstition while each delivered an entirely different message.

Snippets of commercials and bygone television shows played throughout the thirty minutes prior to curtain. Cast upon draperies, the images were often distorted, seemed to be surrounding what a televised family life should be - all before ending with scenes from the day when President Kennedy was assassinated. The distortion of an idyllic family life followed by a day that will remain forever etched in the minds of Americans is fitting for a family that cannot see beyond their own familial unit.

Emerging from the dark prisons of Fidelio comes a show with darker themes, a more sinister villain, and higher stakes. Madison Opera premiered their Sweeney Todd in Capitol Theatre last night to a crowd eager to see what they could do. Fans of the Stephen Sondheim musical in its original capacity, the 2007 film adaptation starring Johnny Depp, the 1998 version starring Ben Kingsley, or (even rarer still) those who are fond of the original 1936 film were clearly in attendance.

February 5th, amongst the cheering and hooting of the nerds in the next room at the Brink Lounge, was the 7th performance for a group of ladies in their monologue series entitled That's What She Said. Despite the pre-gaming for the Comic Con attendees, there were some powerful performance pieces going on in the cozy lounge.

Shattered glass. Upon entering the playing space inside of Bartell Theatre, audiences are confronted with shadowy lights, created by the gobos, that very closely resemble shattered glass. Or, perhaps, razor blades - but who can tell? That's the point of Erik Gernand's play The Beautiful Dark - every person's view is resoundingly different.

'This play is difficult to talk about. On purpose," is how director Brenda DeVita's note in the playbill for her newest production begins. DeVita's brevity in her directorial note is a tribute to the sensitive nature of The Other Place as well as a testament to her talent as a director. The Other Place is a 2013 Broadway triumph and is now, too, a triumph of Madison's own Forward Theater Company.

Out on East Washington Ave lives a company of performers who perform acts of immense proportions- shows whose titles are unknown, obscure, and often totally absurd. In sixty minutes or so (in the late night Friday showcase at any rate) audience members are bombarded with spur of the moment comedy that leaves them knowing why the troupe's performance classes are selling out.

It comes as no surprise to the inhabitants of Madison that a play should arise, an original production no less, that holds a political charge. In a city so focused on the rumblings of politics or making a change, an artistic protest is nothing to shock the masses. When the message outweighs the politics behind it, however, people pay attention.

No, you don't need to get your eyes checked. If you happen by Overture Center before January 11th and see a bouncy redhead pestering a suave Cuban man while sporting the grimace of a beloved television star - follow her. I Love Lucy Live on Stage is 'filming' in front of Overture's live studio audience this week and they are loving every minute of it.

What can a group of talented writers and performers do with a Christmas theme? Surprisingly more than a spoof on good ol' Charlie Brown or a reenactment of The Nativity - no one can be quite sure what will take place at an original performance. When Impresario Tony Trout took the stage clad in an apron, a nod to the name of his company Are We Delicious?, his delightful introduction could lead audiences to wonder. Would they be delicious?

Some of the nation's most notorious villains were brought back to life on Sunday at the matinee of Four Seasons Theatre's rendition of Assassins. Stephen Sondheim's history lesson slash musical, like much of his other work, reminds audiences that the world is not black and white. Michael Herold as the Proprietor, though ringmaster would be a more fitting title, opens the show as one would a circus. A fitting parallel since the characters are so dissimilar from one another but have one end game in mind - fame. They want to matter. Just like those who would run off with the circus were simply looking for an outlet, these folks needed to feel that they matter. After all, in 'the land of the free', why shouldn't every person's story be heard? That's where this show, first staged in 1990, finds its cultural relevance in the end of 2014.

What better way to inaugurate a theater than to put on a show with the pizazz of Mary Poppins. A name made famous by Walt Disney who based his film off of the written work of P.L. Travers. The Broadway musical is a crowd pleaser for certain with a great deal of help from a cast phenomenally chosen to introduce The Wisconsin Dells to its newest, and extremely worthwhile, attraction - The Palace Theater.